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Report: US to end all funding for UNRWA

A boy sits near the sacks of flours during a food aid distribution by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) at Al-Shati Refugee Camp in Gaza City, Gaza on January 15, 2018 [Ali Jadallah / Anadolu Agency]

August 29, 2018 at 11:13 am

The Trump administration has decided to “end funding altogether” for the United Nations’ agency for Palestinian refugees, according to a report by Foreign Policy.

Citing “several sources”, Foreign Policy said “the decision was made at a meeting earlier this month between President Donald Trump’s advisor and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.”

“The administration has informed key regional governments in recent weeks of its plan,” the report added.

The purported move comes hot on the heels of an earlier decision to scale back US financial support for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

Prior to the Trump administration’s cuts, the US had been providing UNRWA some $350 million a year, more than a quarter of the agency’s $1.2 billion annual budget.

A State Department spokesperson declined to comment to Foreign Policyon the meeting but said that “US policy regarding UNRWA has been under frequent evaluation and internal discussion”.

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